Marriage Vow
by Lynacks
Summary: She wants to ask that important question but can't. Doubting herself; doubting their relationship. So she reminisces about their past, how it's shaped her into the person she is now and wonders how that will effect their future.


Based on a true story.

… I _finally_ get to write that.

Well, I've thought of doing this for a while, and it's the main reason I haven't written anything in... forever. Think, think, think. It's all I've been doing these months, and I've come to a decision. I want to propose to my girlfriend. But... REAL LIFE IS SO HARD. Being a female who wants to propose to a female makes it hard to talk to people.

So I wrote this to clear my head. It's heavily... well... _directly_ connected to my life and what I've experienced and WHY I want to propose in the first place.

I'll stop babbling. I really hope you enjoy it.

_**Disclaimer: I'm a normal person... I don't own Vocaloid or any references to big, familiar names. **_

* * *

_**Marriage Vow**_

* * *

We met at a party I didn't want to go to.

I was never the type of socialite most girls were when I started high school. They all wanted the upperclassman to like them, so they dressed and acted in the same way, forcing themselves to like the same things until it was actually true. But when I walked into each of my classes, I felt like my interests were the only pure ones that developed on their own.

Not many people were vocal about reading comics and playing video games was an automatic nerd label stamped on the forehead. So while I liked what I liked, I kept it hidden and away from the kids who liked to act cool while they were being pathetically manipulated by things like music and celebrities.

In exchange, they avoided me since I never let them know what I was interested in, leaving a bubble of mystery around me. Freshman year wasn't really anything special, I lazed by since everything was easy and ignored most of my classmates to indulge in the easy life; everyone said that the harder years were to come, but I never believed them all that much.

What was hard was trying to avoid a social life. I loved my computer, and my entire life was on there – going out with friends wasn't my definition of fun, and I somehow attracted the most social of people. With that package I ended up getting dragged to many places I didn't like. The mall, shoe stores, sushi places that got me sick, and the expensive movie theaters.

Gumi was the "leader" of our small group of four; the others consisted of popular athletes Miki and Mayu, both of which always fought over a boy named Kaito... who, not surprisingly, was a popular senior on the basketball team.

We had fun, and they managed to steal the silence out of me when we were together, eventually leading to me gaining a lot of confidence in myself. Being all freshman, it was surprising how many people actually knew us just by glancing at us. It wasn't hard, especially since I had pink hair.

So when a pretty handsome boy named Matsuda approached me with a verbal invitation to a party, I was pushed by Miki to agree. Not wanting to look like some loser, I ended up smiling with a nod even though I had promised some online friends I'd play with them over the weekend.

"This is your first party, right?!" Mayu yelled from the backseat after flying into the car, short dress nearly revealing everything underneath. I nodded and laughed in nervousness, expecting my inbox to be flooded with hate mail once I got home.

Our driver was some guy Gumi knew that was going to the party, and he started exchanging really flirty comments with Mayu the moment we moved away from Mayu's house.

Miki ended up sitting awkwardly on Gumi's lap, the two of them avoiding eyes for most of the ride. I watched from the mirror on the side of the car, my bangs hiding my right eye. Miki had insisted on doing my hair that night, and spent nearly an hour with scissors and a straightener, showing off her cosmetic skills even though I hadn't asked her to cut my hair. I felt pretty for the first time in a while, my lips stretching out into a smile.

"So my name's Gakupo," the driver said with a chuckle, turning the radio on to make the silence disappear. After that we calmed down and chatted idly while he drove faster than the speed limit allowed and got us to the apartment in less than ten minutes.

Giving the purple-haired driver some money, Gumi clicked her tongue in anticipation and ran up the stairs to bang on the door, the lack of lights and pounding music making it obvious what was going on inside. My stomach was dropping and my eyes didn't reflect any sort of excitement like the others, so once we got inside I migrated over to the nearest wall to lean on, intending on watching the _magic_ happen.

The lights were off and the area was hazy, as if people had smoked. Pictures on the wall shook with the beat from the large speakers, and there was an odd space, as if a TV had been moved to place drinks on. I blinked my hair away and smoothed out my top, leggings sticking to my skin like they _were _skin.

"Hey!" a boy called out to me in my ear, catching me off guard. I jumped away with my arms up in defense and he laughed, rubbing the back of his blue head. I sighed in relief when I realized it was Matsuda, and greeted him as loud as I could. Although it sounded like my voice disappeared when I did. "You enjoying the party?!"

I shrugged with a slight half wave of my hand, making him frown. "I guess?!" I yelled back, making his frown drop. Matsuda sighed and shook his head, smiling before dragging me across the apartment that was full of teenagers, most of them grinding against each other and dancing to some cheesy rap song.

We ended up in the kitchen when he handed me a suspicious cup, the stench alerting me of alcohol. "Luka, you gotta mellow out," he said with a slight slur, although looking totally sober. When I stood there in confusion he sighed, taking the cup to drink with an annoyed glare. "See? Not hard!"

The way he said it made me flinch, and after that he went back to mingling with his friends, finding a girl to dance with. I stood there like an idiot, as if I was waiting for him to come back. Even though it was a tiny apartment, with there being a lot of people crowding every nook and cranny, it seemed a lot bigger, especially when I tried going through the halls.

It wasn't like in all the books and movies where couples made out and nearly had sex everywhere, but there were a lot of drunk people lying around, doors open to let them rest except for one. It was decorated with anime characters – or rather, one in particular which I happened to like: Super Sonico. Gulping, I looked around to make sure nobody saw me, and turned the doorknob to run inside.

"Shit!" I heard a girl yell, jumping from her bed. Her DS ended up flying out of her hands and near the corner of her bed, showing that she was playing the latest Pokémon game. Headphones sliding down her head and onto her shoulders, her teal hair was tied into a ponytail, messy from being pressed against her pillow.

We stared at each other, and I gulped with a nervous laugh. "Uh... hey," I lamely said, lifting my hand while my eyes found the wood floor. She stayed quiet until I looked up to see her patting the space next to her.

"Trying to leave the party huh?" she calmly said, unplugging her headphones to let out loud battling music from the speakers. Turning it down she turned to me and smiled, pearly whites showing. My stomach churned, but it was warm and I relaxed on her bed.

"You don't even know," I sighed, kicking my heels off to wiggle my dying toes. The red lines surely didn't help in making them look cute, and I blushed when she started laughing. "Don't laugh...!"

She shrugged and jumped off her bed to her dresser, which was painted a dark blue; everything in this room was somehow blue aside from her bed. The wall was sky blue, her curtains were dark blue, even her inside door handle was blue. "You sure like blue," I commented obviously, making her laugh again.

Throwing a pair of socks at me, she jumped onto her computer chair, the thing looking like it was going to fall apart, "Well, blue is a pretty color!"

I noticed that being inside her room really made me feel like a party wasn't going on outside, but seeing as she had headphones and the volume on her game on high, meant it existed. "I'm Luka Megurine," I blurted, shaking my hair out to lean against her headboard. The dim soft orange lamp in the corner and the dark sky outside helped relax me even more, even when the teal-haired girl jumped back on her bed after shutting off her computer.

"Miku Hatsune," she grinned, a small blush on her face appearing. "Sorry if it's so nerdy in here..."

Right. Her room was full of things anime and video games, which didn't bother me in the slightest. "No way!" I yelled, eyes wide. Miku jumped back and I shook my head, pink hair hitting my cheeks, "I meant, that no, it's not nerdy. I think it's cool."

"Cool?" she repeated curiously, tilting her head. Then she shrugged and chuckled, sitting next to me with her game still on the same battle, "Glad you think so then!"

We spent most of the night simply playing her game together while talking about our interests. For once I felt important, like my hobbies were finally reached and accepted by someone.

But once Mayu came crashing in, demanding I leave, I felt like my soul was taken out and left in the room while Miku simply smiled sadly and hurriedly gave me her number while I was being dragged from her comfortable bed, heels left underneath.

"Later!" she managed to yell over the loud crowd while I looked back and waved, Miki and Mayu drunkenly shoving me out the door and into the chilly car of Gakupo's.

After that, I kept in heavy contact with Miku, although we couldn't meet much since our school schedules were completely different. But on weekends, we met and hung out at bookstores and arcades and video game stores, as well as going to her house to play games and then spending the night at some crummy restaurant where she would mock everything we saw.

Then, my first year of high school ended and I spent my summer hanging out with Gumi, Miki and Mayu, after bailing on them for the second half of the year.

"So, we are finally going to be sophomores!" Miki excitedly yelled all the time, getting the chance to be in the Varsity team at school. Nobody but Mayu could relate to her excitement. To me, the new year meant school... which meant no playing games all the time.

* * *

Sophomore year was a little more exciting, especially since I had managed to find Miku wandering around with a confused look on her face. "Miku?" I casually drawled, poking the side of her head with a smile. She jumped and crushed me in a hug the moment she saw who I was, her slightly shorter body crushing my own.

"Luka!" she yelled, eyes big and full of tears, "I am so lost!"

My heart stopped, thinking back to the months we spent together, finally realizing I had been hanging with a middle schooler at the time. Just the thought of the name made me wary of her presence. I coughed and shoved the thought aside, nodding. "Well, I'll take you there then!"

Since we were in the same school, Miku and I hung out during our breaks and during lunch, hunched over her DS to stare at the small screen with one of our favorites running. My friends suddenly got suspicious when I dropped them all the time, although I could only shoot back that their games could've been something else too, to which they backed off. Except Gumi.

"Hey there," she said with a playful shove of my hood over my head. Miku jumped away from her and pressed her hand-held against her chest, clenching her teeth in what looked like fear. Gumi looked her over and suddenly pressed against my back, her chuckle eerily similar to a bully's. "Seriously? Playing games at school?"

I tried to sit up and defend her, but Miku only glared at her and lifted it, although I could see her hand clenching under the table. "Just so you know, it's a classic!" she yelled loudly, making Gumi laugh even louder to cover up the statement.

"Well, then I should check this classic out!" she said, hopping into the seat next to Miku and letting my back rest. With the game in hand, I watched as Miku led her through it, slowly relaxing in her seat while Gumi concentrated on listening and playing.

Even though they had a great time until the end of lunch, that was the last time they talked, even when I brought her up to Gumi; it seemed becoming sophomores got to her head and she only associated with upperclassman. Most of them were jerks.

"Oh," Miku squeaked when I opened the stall in the bathroom, standing there with a grin even though it looked completely creepy in this setting. "Luka!" she happily greeted, holding up her palm to greet me. Looking around, I made sure there wasn't anyone around when I stared at her strangely, washing my hands quickly and wiping my hands on my pants, knowing the air dryer wasn't worth the time.

"So?" I asked, opening the door. It was after school and nearly everyone was gone in this hallway aside from us, Miku staring at the floor and me standing there like I was demanding lunch money from her. Which was impossible since we got free food here. "Miku, you okay?"

She slid down the wall and shook her head, tilting her head with a humorless smile. I felt my back shiver, and slid down to sit next to her, looking at the wall covered in school announcements nobody really cared about. "Luka, what would you do if someone tried to fight you?" she asked dully, playing with her backpack straps.

My eyes widened and I sat up straighter to stare at her with my mouth hanging open. "Someone's trying to fight you?!" I repeated in confusion, shaking my head. My shoulders decided they wanted to accompany it and I felt my teeth clenching. "Are you serious?!"

Miku grabbed my hand to stop me, and I sighed, leaning my head on her shoulder for comfort even if it wasn't my issue to deal with. "Who?" I asked quietly, thinking of the sort of advice I could give her.

It took a while and a lot of her humming to stall before she murmured, "Do you know this girl named Lily?"

_Everyone_ knew Lily. _Nobody_ liked Lily.

0o0

"The hell do you want?" the blonde smoker asked, puffing a large cloud into my face. I blinked away the tears from the burning and shook my head, making her laugh. She was sitting alone behind the school with a cigarette in her hand, crouched down like some gambler.

I sighed, "Why do you want to fight Miku?" It was all I could get out, and I suddenly regretted it when Lily stopped her smoking.

She stood and got in my face, icy blue eyes full of rage, breath smelling like tobacco. "I'll have you know, she snitched me and my friends out by telling our gym teacher we smoked weed in the locker room," she seethed, fists clenched.

My eyes rolled and she pushed me away from her, getting me to charge back at her, starting a quick fight that luckily nobody noticed. I wasn't very strong and had to get in a few lucky shots before I felt my head collide with the ground, completely blacking out with only the sight of blonde hair surrounding me.

0o0

I winced when my mom slapped an ice pack onto my head before leaving my room, not bothering to ask how I was feeling. The entire week, after hearing about my suspension, she ignored me as if that would get rid of my suspension. I simply rolled my eyes at her and stayed in bed, my concussion having left me dizzy and prone to puking everywhere.

"Luka, Miku's coming upstairs!" my dad yelled, the sound of quick footsteps making me fear for my life. For a moment I contemplated jumping out of my window, but when I literally set one foot on the ground, my door burst open and Miku was panting, her usual blue hoodie thrown over her shoulder.

She stomped over to my bed and forced me to look at her, sweaty hands cupping my cheeks. "Are you an _idiot_?" she softly asked, shaking her head. I smiled and leaned back, taking her with me. Winter break was close, and I was wondering what I should get her for Christmas.

"I am," I laughed, feeling my head throb. My fight with Lily ended with me getting a concussion, a broken pinky and a black eye – which luckily didn't swell. Gumi described it as a battle scar, even though it would go away in a few weeks.

Our hands were tightly holding each other, Miku's breathing slowing until it was like she was sleeping, and I knew I was blushing from how close we were. I didn't want to say I had a crush on her, even though deep down I knew I did.

Sighing, I brushed back my bangs and pressed my ice pack against her back, causing her skin to grow bumps. "Hey," I greeted calmly, feeling my eyes drooping as I relaxed in our position. She looked up at me and I ran my hand through her hair, relishing in the soft feeling. "Go out with me."

"H-huh?" she blurted immediately, face going red. Miku stared at me, looming closer. "Really?"

I nodded and hummed, my fingers running over her knuckles, making Miku blush again. "Really really," I chuckled, referring to a movie she liked.

With a smile, Miku leaned up to rest her head on my shoulder, her lips touching my neck softly, letting me feel how happy she was.

Our first date was awkward, to say the least. We went out not as friends, but as girlfriends, so the usual mood we had when we hung out was gone. Sitting in the restaurant with my best clothes was weird, especially since I was only a sixteen-year-old. But when Miku walked in with her hair down for once, makeup on and fidgeting in place, I realized I made the right decision in wanting to date her.

* * *

Then Junior year came. Miku and I had a very strong relationship, I was known as the brave girl who took on the likes of Lily Masuda and Miku ended up joining the lacrosse team for some odd reason. She mentioned something about it being like Final Fantasy, without the magic and monsters... and that she caught the ball in a small net.

To which I always laughed and said, "Then isn't it just your typical sport game?"

"Hey," Mayu giggled in English when we were left to chat among ourselves. Being juniors, we had a huge amount of work suddenly piled on us, and I found my backpack a ton heavier than it was in my two previous years. Homework was a priority, tests were mandatory, I had to find a present for Miku's birthday, I still had to get my driver's license and I had a part-time job I absolutely hated, but managed to love when payday came around.

Mayu pressed her pencil against my cheek, getting my attention from my nearly completely homework. "What?" I asked, pushing it away from my face.

She laughed and twirled in her hand, nodding to herself, "You're dating someone. Now spill." The little twinkle in her eye made me shudder in refusal, although I knew she wasn't going to let me get away since we still had 31 minutes of class left. "C'mon..." she begged playfully, leaning over her desk.

Miku didn't really mention anything about keeping our relationship a secret – I mean, we hadn't even kissed yet that was for sure, so there wasn't anything to really hide aside from the fact that we were a gay couple; the first in our class. To my knowledge, anyway.

"Well... I don't know if I should say," I muttered, going back to half-ass the last few questions, sighing in relief once I put my pencil down. Mayu puffed out her cheeks and glared at me, making me roll my eyes. "I need to ask."

"You need to ask him, really?" she asked with incredible doubt, stopping with a small gasp of surprise. "Is it Matsuda?"

I shook my head and looked across the room where the taller, muscular form of Matsuda sat, his cheery personality from freshman year gone with sports and his friends' influences. He still threw parties that I attended sometimes, but there wasn't much going on with him aside from typical girlfriend problems. "Ew, no," I gagged, shaking my head.

Mayu slapped my arm and begged for an answer, even after the bell rang and we walked to our next class – our schedules _happened_ to have all the same classes but one, and I knew it was her doing her crazy stalker-work with one of the teachers.

"I'm not telling you~" I sang, landing in my seat with a hefty sigh of annoyance. Mayu grumbled to herself and sat next to me, finally dropping the subject.

Our teacher, an overly zealous socialite, buzzed over and hummed to herself, writing down something on the board. "Not telling what?"

"That Luka has a boyfriend," Mayu replied, slapping my shoulder. I rolled my eyes at her and sauntered over to the windows to open them, letting in a cool breeze that would relieve me of my heated state.

Outside and running on the track was Miku and her team, the coach blowing her whistle to get them motivated. Miku's hair was in its typical ponytail, her sports clothing clinging to her curvy body in all the right ways, I felt myself biting my lip. She was a late bloomer, something I teased about and got hit for, but I wasn't the only one who noticed, and it made me a little jealous.

Not only that, but I was letting my hormones think _for_ me, when we hadn't even kissed yet. Miku was adorable yes, but that didn't mean she wasn't sexually appealing – in fact, she was too sexually appealing now, I found it hard to resist touching her when I wanted.

0o0

"Who is this boyfriend, dammit?!" Gumi yelled, slamming her head onto the cafeteria table. Her long hair had suddenly gotten chopped off in the summer, and I noticed she got a lot more lean and muscular, a result of heavy physical training, or so she bragged over Facebook about – I hadn't known she was really serious. "I mean... damn! Luka, you have to tell us!"

I laughed and waved her question off, shaking my head. "No way. Figure it out," I replied, not even bothering when Miki started listing off boys that asked me out.

"Wait..." Gumi stopped her, holding up a hand. I froze at the look she gave me, and looked around to avoid that stare. Running a hand through my hair gave me a second to make a horrified expression, and she only smirked in victory. "It's that Miku girl, isn't it?"

Miki screamed, leaning back. Her high ponytail brushed against Gumi's shoulder, and I noticed that blush and shiver, making me smirk back at her. "Wait. A girl?!" Miki yelled, not so much disgusted as she was surprised. "I didn't know you were gay!"

"Surprise...?" I weakly answered with a wave of both hands, then dropping them with a sigh when all I got were deadpanned stared. "I didn't say anything because I didn't know what you thought of gay people, okay?"

Gumi kicked my leg and pointed at herself, "Durr hurr. You are smart. I think I've given off that vibe for a long time now." I simply stared at her and she shrugged, going back to her food. It took me a few seconds to process what she said before blushing in anger at her keeping silent.

"Well aren't you Paul Revere? Slow ass!" I yelled, throwing my apple at her.

0o0

I sighed at the feeling of Miku's head on my lap, reaching down to caress her cheek. She hummed at the feeling and cuddled into me more, her lips pressing against my bellybutton through my thin shirt. Testing was soon, and I had to study for them to get into the college I wanted. "I don't like studying," I sighed, looking down at her grinning face.

She was holding her DS, playing a new RPG, the sounds making me want to avoid my work to take and play myself. Miku laughed and poked my nose, forcing me to look up, "Nope. Study."

"But I don't want to," I whined, dropping my pencil to fall on my back. "I hate school!"

Miku kissed my cheek and ran her fingers down my arms, getting me to hum in relaxation."Sure, but you don't hate me, so I demand you continue," she laughed, pressing her face into my neck. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer, getting our eyes to lock.

Shaking my head, I smiled, "Out of everything I stay for. _You_? Get real." She pinched my stomach and I jumped with a small squeal, grabbed her hands.

"Jerk," she huffed, glaring in another direction. I cooed at her adorable face, stopping only when she leaned down to bite my nose, escaping my clutches to run into the hallway.

I got up, neglecting my homework, and chased after her, hopping over everything she threw at me like a champion, even sliding over the dinner table for cool emphasis. Once we got to the foot of the stairs again, Miku did some weird Mario-like hop on the wall and grabbed the railing to climb upstairs instead of simply running up; I decided to grab her legs to bring her down, not hearing the sound of breaking wood before Miku came crashing into my arms.

Sliding down the railing, I smiled in a charming way and it fell once we got off-balance and fell to the floor, hitting the hamper sitting right below us and breaking it.

"Damn... that hurt," I winced, looking at Miku to make sure she was okay. My leg was slightly cut from the plastic, and she was sucking on one of her fingers from the railing breaking. "We're so dead..."

After a lecture and apologizing for the mess and cleaning up the mess, we sat in my room, the computer playing some anime we wanted to watch. I lightly kissed Miku's shoulder, loving the feel of her skin on my lips. She was laying in between my legs, both of us wrapped under a warm blanket and sitting in comfortable silence.

"What?" she giggled, leaning her head back to look at me, pressing her lips against the bottom of my chin. I smiled and kissed her forehead, shaking my head. "Oh come on. What?" Miku pressed, wrapping her arms around my neck.

I didn't know how to explain it, and I didn't want to say I loved her if she didn't love me back. So I took a deep breath and made a grim face, forcing Miku to pause the show. "Miku..." I started, making it sound like something was wrong.

Her face fell immensely, and at the sight of it I stopped my act to cup her cheeks, staring into her teal eyes that were tearing up. Pressing our foreheads together, I felt our breaths mingle, noses touching, hands shaking and sweaty. Just sitting close to her like this, I knew what I felt for her was real; we were growing up, and I guess so did our feelings.

"I... I think I love you," I whispered before pressing our lips together, my eyes going wide at the feeling.

We spent the next ten minutes simply kissing, some slow, some passionate; testing the different variations before we ran out of air. Miku pinched my thigh before kissing my cheek again, "You idiot. I really thought the worst when you made that dumb face."

"You love all the faces I make!"

"...Well duh," she scoffed, laying on her back again, ears red, "I _do_ love you."

I nearly fainted.

* * *

On Miku's birthday, nine months into our relationship, we had sex. It was... _special_. A cliché term, but definitely the right one to describe it.

My parents were home with my new baby brother, so I had to make my way over to her apartment unexpectedly to get the presents in the right positions before she came home from practice. After three years of knowing him and Miku, and dating said girl for nine months, I had barely noticed her brother was Matsuda, his light blue hair being the biggest tip-off aside from the white locks.

He stared at me when I waltzed in, opening his mouth to say something before I beat him. "Do you have any friends to hang out with tonight?" I asked sweetly, knowing it was wrong to kick him out this late, but at the same time not wanting him to interfere with what I had planned.

Just a night for Miku and I. Not anything sexual, just a night to spend ourselves without interruptions.

Matsuda nodded and slowly walked out, mumbling something about no parents to worry about for the week. I nodded, knowing how overly friendly to the point it was annoying her parents were.

I got to work and placed a cake on the table with a card, a huge bouquet of roses right next to it, and scattered mini bags of onion-flavored chips on the floor, leading to her room. It wasn't as full of "nerdy" things as it used to be, using up wall space for pictures of us and her own group of friends, as well as a desk for homework, making it look like the perfect combination of a nerd with a "life." There, I tossed rose petals all over the floor and placed my present on her desk next to a single rose.

After two hours, I hid in the kitchen, turning off all the lights when I heard the door opening. Miku sighed to herself and dropped her things, taking off her shoes. "What the..." she trailed off, finally noticing the odd flames on the table.

With the way the cake and flowers were placed, I was able to creep up behind her while she read the card, her cheeks lifting in a smile. My arms slowly wrapped around her, not making her scream but making her let out a noise between a sob and a laugh.

"Do you like it?" I asked lowly, swaying our bodies. Miku nodded and placed her hands over mine, sniffling.

"I swear everyone forgot," she whispered, spinning to wrap her arms around my neck. I smiled and leaned down to kiss her slowly, ignoring the feel of her sweaty back and running my hands down her skin. Our tongues clashed but in a very slow way compared to other times, my dominance over her making my hot. She moaned a little and pulled back, face flushed in embarrassment. "Luka, I-I..."

I nodded and kissed her forehead, "It's okay. I won't make you do anything you don't want to do."

We enjoyed the cake and created a mess by trying to wipe frosting on each other, then I led her to her room while letting her squeal over the snacks I left for her, even taking a punch for it. "Calling me fat," Miku huffed.

"Absolutely not!" I loudly declined, opening her door to let her in first. At the sight of everything, she slowly stepped over to her desk, picking up the rose first. Sitting on every place they could stand was a blue candle, matching every decoration in here.

She approached me and pressed me against her door, closing it and locking it before pressing the rose against my chest where my heart was. "You're such a romantic," she whispered, tears welling in her eyes. I blinked and chuckled, looking away.

"I guess?"

Miku reached out to touch my cheek, smiling while trying to hold in her already running tears. "I love you... so much..." she sobbed, burying her head into my breasts. I hugged her before repeating the same thing to her and walked over to the desk to get her present, the candles flickering when I walked by. "You want to open it?" I asked gently, hoping she'd like it.

She didn't hesitate, and nearly dropped the device if I hadn't caught it once she realized what it was. "Luka, no," she seriously said, shaking her head. I was going to protest but she simply smiled and pushed it toward me, "Luka. I'm... happy you got that for me, but... those phones are expensive...!"

Smart phones didn't come cheap, no. But I was willing to spend as much as I could for her, even if it meant shelling out everything I had. "They are," I agreed, scooting close so our shoulders were touching. "But money is... well, I don't really care for it." I felt my cheeks burn at such a cliché statement, and Miku started to laugh at how cheesy it was until she nodded and took it back with a sigh. "So you'll accept it?"

"Of course," she whispered, kissing my cheek with a loud, playful smack. I hummed in appreciation and wiped my skin before sliding my palm down her face, getting a squeal of disgust out of her. "Weirdo!"

I laid down and pulled her with me, tilting my head to stare up at the ceiling that was now missing an anime poster. "You decided to place saliva on my face first – I didn't want to leave you out," I sang, ignoring the angry face she was giving me.

Miku grabbed my hands and lifted herself out of our embrace to sit on my stomach, thighs placed on both sides of my body. I felt my throat tighten at the feeling, especially at the look Miku was giving me. We were only teenagers, and most adults say you didn't know it until you became an adult... but at that moment, there was no doubt we were very much in love with each other.

Reaching a hand up to caress her cheek, I slowly began to sit up, hearing as the friction our bodies were creating made our breaths turn into short pants. I held her hand tightly, already seeing the fear in her eyes; she was only a year younger, but a year was a long time. "Only if you want to," I whispered, my heart shaking in my chest. I didn't need to specify what, Miku got the answer she needed when we pressed even closer to each other.

"But I'm scared," she whimpered, her hands trembling in my own. Her bed sheets were still silky, but did nothing to stop the heat when I tore my shirt off to press her palm against my thumping chest. It was so crazy I could feel every inch of my body tremble along with my heart.

"I'm scared too," I admitted quietly, a blush staining my face, "I don't know how to do it perfectly, or how to even _start_... but Miku... I love you too much to not try. If you... God forbid – but if you _don't_ like it, tell me to stop and I will."

She stayed silent, simply staring into my eyes, jumping from one to the other to find any sort of lie flicker. I pressed our foreheads against each other again, and wrapped my arms around her smaller form. Miku was a pretty petite girl, and I loved that about her. "I... okay," she answered confidently, smiling up at me before lightly pressing our lips together.

That night could only be described as beautiful. Miku was beautiful. _We_ were beautiful.

* * *

During the end of my senior year, I had finally gotten around to convincing my mom I could go out without causing trouble, so the night I was home alone (after dropping my baby brother off at my aunt's) was the night I wanted to finally take Miku somewhere we would remember.

I sat in the driver's seat of the car, sweaty palms slipping on the steering wheel while Miku stared at me in confusion, frozen in the middle of putting her seat belt on.

"What's wrong?" she asked, letting the buckle slide through her fingers, the sound making me regain consciousness. I looked to the backseats where we had thrown a few blankets, a cooler and pillows for a trip to the lake. It was an hour drive, and since we'd be spending the night there we decided to leave at six in the evening. "Luka?" Miku muttered, taking my hand.

"I'm scared to drive!" I blurted, shoving my face into the steering wheel, forcing the horn to blare at my neighbor while he was watering his yard.

He sprayed the car with the hose and elicited a squeal from Miku, forcing me to turn the car on. I had experience driving, but that didn't make it any less frightening. So before I even pulled out of the driveway, I got Miku to switch with me – seeing as she could drive and I couldn't.

"Don't laugh at me!" I whined, throwing my head back. Instead of looking cool I was turned into a pile of loser puddy.

0o0

Laying there on the beach with the waves licking the soles of our feet was utter bliss. Miku curled into my body, running her hand down my stomach in slow, gentle slides. Usually coming here late at night was a death wish from how cold it got, but it seemed tonight was in our favor. The air was warm and welcoming, crickets made happy songs all around us and we were all alone.

"I don't want you to go to college," Miku blurted out of nowhere after a prolonged silence. Her statement threw me for a loop and I found myself stuttering, trying to find an answer in my now jumbled mess of a brain. Miku could only stare off into the distance, playing with my hair. Since the last time it got cut by Miki, I let it grow, and it now sat at my lower back, a bright pink shade.

My hand drowned in her teal locks, as if it would find the answer she wanted so I could bring it to the table. "Why not?" I asked, sincerely curious. College was really my only option – that or simply get a job that paid little to nothing and try to live. Or the military, but I couldn't do that to myself.

She stayed silent, but soon whispered a nearly inaudible, "I'll miss you too much."

I felt my lips stretch into a smile, having expected something similar to what she said. Truthfully I wanted to go to a college far from my house, somewhere I hadn't been before; I didn't have enough money to do that so I opted to just try somewhere a little closer.

Then I realized, leaving Miku would only serve to make me miserable. I would not settle for a long distance relationship.

"Miku, I'm not going anywhere," I said, watching as her face lit up, and she lifted herself to stare at my eyes, a huge smile on her face. Not wanting to let it fall any time, I kissed her shortly, "I couldn't let you miss me – _I'd _miss you."

She cheered quietly before reaching into one of the shopping bags containing many fireworks. "To celebrate!" Miku laughed, bringing out a few matches.

While the dark sky turned colorful, warm flickers of light hitting our skin and making the lake glow over and over, we kissed and laughed and enjoyed the summer night. We were happy, and I had _never_ felt so much for one person that I did for Miku.

* * *

Graduation happened sooner than I would have liked, and I had to endure a whole speech about growing up and becoming an adult, Miku crying over and over about me not being with her in school anymore, and struggling with my own tears as I faced my three friends, all of us heading to the same college yet majoring in completely opposite subjects. I chose to major in psychology, while the others wanted to focus on teaching, becoming a doctor and computer science.

"Well," Gumi sighed, shaking her head with tear stains on her cheeks, her tassel brushing against her face, "This is it for now, I guess..." Miki sniffled, her extremely long ponytail shivering with her held back sobs. "Don't cry, Miki!"

Mayu nodded, wiping away her tears. The only time I had seen her cry was after Kaito bluntly rejected her, breaking her for weeks before she was back to normal. Seeing it after such a long time was weird. "We'll still see each other?" she asked as an answer, sounding not at all confident in that.

I took off my cap for a moment to run my hands through my hair, feeling my face become hot. It felt so odd, knowing I wasn't going to be heading to school every morning after this. Unless I decided to drop by Miku's classes to visit and embarrass her.

"We can hang out outside of school," Gumi sternly said, as if it was a demand and not a suggestion. I gave a loud agreement, nodding my head to let them know I was all for it. Freshman year I would have never guessed these three would have become my best friends the next three years, especially since I didn't like them at all at first. I was glad I stuck around.

When it was time for the ceremony, I felt myself swell up in pride at how far I came, especially when I heard the few scholarship names that I was awarded. Walking across the stage was amazing – everyone always said the moment you walk across that stage is the moment you walk down the road to the rest of your life. And I really felt that when I touched my diploma.

Not very surprisingly, Miki was the one who got the most scholarships and was eligible for a free ride to the local university that she declined – she wanted to work for her school money even though she already did with sports.

"Well..." she mumbled, chin on Gumi's shoulder and hands wound around her waist. Gumi seriously became more petite as the years passed. Not that she was fat, but she looked a lot cleaner and healthier compared to freshman... and sophomore and junior year. I wasn't surprised when she became Miki's crush – if I didn't have Miku I surely would have crushed on her just because of her looks. It was too bad she was extremely oblivious to Miki's advances.

"This is finally... it?"

Mayu stomped her foot and shook her head. "We established that we would hang out outside of school. Okay?" she strongly defended, eyes full of tears. I found myself hugging her short form, running a hand through her pale hair.

Soon we had to part, but not without a final hug and plan to meet before school started up. The moment I turned around my body was assaulted by a tight hug, Miku sobbing into my neck in happiness. "Congrats!" she cried, kissing all over my face with no regard to anyone who was around us.

My parents soon came up to me with roses, my dad sneaking a comment about most of them being from Miku. When she got her first job, payday was translated as Luka Day, where all she would do was spend money on me to make up for everything I did for her. Which was ridiculous, but adorably so.

"We're so proud of you," my mom cooed, kissing my forehead. My little brother Yuuma could finally walk, and he hugged my leg and dribbled all over my gown trying to kiss me. Miku squealed at his actions and held him tightly, not minding when all he did was pinch her eyes and tug on her hair.

I imagined her being a mother in the future, and immediately laughed, scaring the others that were around me. "Nothing," I laughed, kissing Miku's head. The party that night was the only one I liked, the last one being one of Matsuda's overly alcohol-driven one; the events even _later_ in the evening were even sweeter.

0o0

A secret I kept from them was that I had intentionally bought an apartment of my own before graduation, using cheap furnishing from the second-hand stores and dishes my parents never used as a starting point.

So when I presented it to Miku, she fainted.

We were placed nearly smack dab in the middle of the city, surrounded by pretty lights and the sound of cars, where all the excitement she loved was. Of course my parents hated the idea of us living in such a busy area where crazy people were all the time, but I didn't mind. Nothing happened and I was sure nothing would ever happen. Especially since we lived in a pretty large complex.

Dealing with Matsuda's opinion was harsh, and harder when Miku's parents came in, both of them vehemently against the decision. They had no issue with us dating, but for some reason I felt they didn't trust me now that I was out of school.

It took a week, negotiating with said angry parents, working and feeling like some cheap loser when I couldn't afford a moving van to finally get Miku to officially live with me. At first it felt a little awkward and I knew she was uncomfortable, being apart from her family – especially when she was only a junior in high school.

Wrapping my arms around her and kissing her neck, I placed my hands on the railing outside, watching the hustle of the city. It was Saturday night, and seeing Miku's saddened face made me want to do something for her. "You hate it here?" I asked, looking back into the living room where my old TV from elementary school sat on some box.

"I don't," she answered quickly, voice void of embarrassment. "It's just different."

I hummed, nodding against her shoulder, "I'm sorry. It was too fast. According to society I rushed it by a landslide."

Miku could only laugh and turned to kiss me, pushing me inside and landing on top of me when I hit the small couch. "Not even! All we need to do is clean and get better furniture and I'll be fine," she laughed, helping me stand to head into our bedroom.

_Just_ to sleep, mind you.

* * *

After college started, Miku began to work full-time, helping to pay everything while I dealt with school and a late night job of my own. Because of that schedule we didn't see each other and that often started fights between us, only to be fixed by Gumi when she came over for homework help.

I never regretted those fights, and learned how to handle them better. One time I ended up stumbling in and out of the apartment, puking my guts out into the hallway when Miku wasn't home from fatigue, ending up in a pretty fat fine. But we lived through them. And I could only look back at those fights and the early memories with pride.

Fast forward one year: here I am, sitting in front of a fancy coffee table with a flat screen in front of me and homework sitting everywhere, serving only to frustrate me. In the middle of the pile is a black velvet box, taking all my attention and making me think once again.

For months I've wanted to do this, to actually prove that Miku was going to be mine for a long time. But then I'd have doubts; would she still love me ten years down the road? Twenty? Up to our 50th anniversary? Was I even sure she loved me just as much? All of this made me doubt our relationship, specifically about my end of the relationship.

Gumi would only laugh and wave her hand with a, "Just ask her. I bet you she won't even hesitate to say yes."

But I would always doubt and think: would she agree in the heat of the moment and regret it, or did she actually love me that much to marry me? There was always a chance of her falling in love with someone else...

If I were to marry her, I would surely try to be the best wife I could be. Basically I'd stay the same as I am, only with a new title to my name. Instead of girlfriend (which gets tiring after nearly four years), or even fiancee, Miku could proudly call me her wife. I could proudly call her my wife. We'd simply enjoy our lives together until one of us either loses interest or dies.

That would be my marriage vow to her.

I hear the door open and the small footsteps of Miku approaching me, her work uniform smelling of grease and butter. She smiles at me and jumps into my arms, knowing she reeks but not caring.

"Hey," she whispers against my lips, hugging me tightly. I kiss her neck and hug her tightly, black box hidden in my pocket where she can't feel. "How was your awesome day of homework?"

Miku has grown into a very intelligent woman, stronger and definitely more independent than when we first met. Her shyness is gone, replaced by confidence. However, she made a very brave decision by not going to college, wanting to support me instead. My very own personal housewife.

I'm joking, of course.

"Luka!" she yells, scaring me off the couch. The black box hits my skin and makes me wince, but Miku can only stare into my eyes with a soft smile on her face. "Did I ever tell you I loved you? Because I do. _Very much_."

I blink in confusion at her random, obvious statement, but smile and kiss her passionately, "I didn't. Thanks for reminding me." Pushing myself into a sitting position, I watch as Miku kisses my forehead and heads to the bathroom for a shower, leaving me by myself for another hour.

Taking out the box with the ring worth thousands, I sigh to myself with a smile on my face and push it into my pocket, waiting for another day.

* * *

_**AN:**_

I know, this was long and probably incredibly boring, since it wasn't necessarily a story, more like random events of one's life pasted together in a text-based collage. And the last part is in second (I think second) person because it's sort of the present; all the other events that lead to Luka wanting to marry Miku.

But I assure you, everything you just read is _real_. It is my life in a nutshell, and how I've developed into the person I am now compared to my annoying, self-centered existence of a long time ago. I really wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my Miku being there, and I honestly don't know what I'd be doing if I hadn't gone to that party that night.

Probably playing Monopoly by myself.

It's probably not as good as it should be, but I just felt like sharing a part of my life with you guys, and because picturing Luka and Miku as me and my girlfriend is just too adorable.

Totally not bragging. Okay, maybe a _little_.

See you next time!


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